Thirty Three Days of Forever
by Leif the Lucky
Summary: The doctor left and Itachi continued to watch the pale sakura blossoms float down from the trees in courtyard. "I really wanted to see the snow." How would you spend the last thirty three days of your life?
1. Day 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

This is the edited first chapter of my story. Each of these chapters are going to be of varying lengths and this is going to be similar to a drabble story. I hopefully will give you punctual updates at least once a week or every two weeks. Reviews encourage me and remind me!

**Day 1**

He looked nonchalantly at the doctor.

"I'm sorry Uchiha-san, but when we took the blindness from your eyes we were not aware that there were deposits of the disease in your brain. Apparently the blindness was some self defense measure your body took against it. I am so sorry for our careless mistake. There is no way for us to reverse the effects of the surgery. You have your eyesight back but..." he couldn't finish. "There's nothing we can do," he said regretfully, clutching his clipboard.

Itachi turned his head slowly and looked out the window. Had it even been two days?

"How long?

"A month or two. We can't really be sure. I'm afraid that it is going to be exceedingly painful, sir." His eyes were filled with tears. _This man's job was sacred to him,_ Itachi thought. _My death will cause him misery_! This was a novel idea to the Uchiha. The entire village would be glad to be rid of the ex-traitor, despite the fact that his innocence had been proved.

"Ah."

The doctor left and Itachi continued to watch the pale sakura blossoms floating down from the trees in courtyard. He turned away and picked up the novel sitting next to his bed. He read the pages without really taking anything in. He quietly closed it and put it away. He looked again out the window.

"I really wanted to see the snow," he mumbled, then curled up under the blankets and fell asleep.

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Sakura stared at the dripping IV, wishing to be anywhere but there. She turned away only to face a more depressing sight: the slow up and down movements of the monitor, representing her heart. She was slowing down. She would be dying soon.

"Sakura!"

She sat up quickly and plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Naruto-kun," she sang as he flew through the door.

"Did you get the results of the tests back?"

Her face fell and she crumpled forward. A sob escaped her lips. Naruto stood awkwardly by the door, wishing he could break down and cry too.

"That bad, huh," he whispered.

He uncomfortably sat next to his friend. He rested a gentle arm around her shoulder and patted her comfortingly.

"I don't want to die, Naruto," she whispered. "I had so many things left to do. I was going to save Sasuke, I was going to beat Ino, I was going to be happy. But all of that's changed. It's over now."


	2. Day 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

I have changed a few things about this story, including the chapter lengths and the title. I've deleted all but the first chapter (so I don't have to delete the story) so the next few chapters are going to be pretty familiar to my old readers. I finished planning this story and I have finally got everything straightened out. The story pretty much has remained the same with few changes. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please enjoy more punctual updates! From now on the only reason they would be late would be because of my own forgetfulness!

I hope I didn't confuse you all too much.

**Day 2**

Itachi wandered about the hospital, wondering why he didn't just leave. There was no reason to be here. There was nothing the doctors could do and it wasn't like he could recover. He should just go home and spend his remaining days in solitude. It was probably that idea that he feared. The idea of living in the house that he had grown up in, or any other house in the Uchiha compound, disgusted him and gave him feelings of indescribable guilt. Staying in the unfriendly cold hospital was preferable to that. He shook his head, that may be part of it but it was not all. There was some rationale he was remaining.

He turned down an unfamiliar hall. The patients suffering from fatal wounds or diseases were housed here. He was lucky he wasn't moved here. Screams, coughs, and cries were faintly heard through the heavy doors. It was called "The Hall of the Condemned" by those who couldn't understand the seriousness of it.

His attention was drawn by an open door. Curiously he moved closer so he could see the unfortunate person. A pink-haired girl was sitting on a the hospital bed in tears. Surrounding her were three ninjas, probably her teammates. He was surprised to see that the famous copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi was one of them. He was shockingly without his novel; in fact, his mask had stains that were presumably tears. The second shinobi was black-haired boy that looked uncomfortably like Itachi's brother. The third shinobi was the Kyuubi container, Uzumaki Naruto. This was the famous Team 7.

Nothing was being said; the only noise being the girl's soft sobs and the unshed tears from the three.


	3. Day 2 cont

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

So I'm actually kind of proud of this chapter... almost.

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**Day 2 (cont)**

A doctor shoved rudely passed Itachi and rushed in the room. The door was shut behind him, cutting Itachi off from all conversation. For some unknown reason to him, he remained in the hallway, waiting for the door to open.

His mind wandered as he waited in the hallway. The overpowering scent of ammonia, blood, and metal irritated his eyes and nose. He slid down to the ground and leaned against the wall, staring at the door across from him. The hall was unbearably quiet now and his heartbeat seemed extremely loud. He closed his eyes and waited.

His patience was rewarded about an hour later. The door opened and the teammates exited the room. They looked at him with startled expressions, but continued on their way. The last one, the blonde Kyuubi boy stopped and stared at him.

"I didn't see you at the funeral," he muttered, almost unheard by the stoic Uchiha.

"I was other wise engaged," Itachi replied, emotionlessly.

He shrugged noncommittally. "I thought you woulda come since you were the one that brought him back. I thought you had changed. I guess you always were a cold-hearted bastard." He walked away, not saying another word.

Itachi didn't move. The boy's words had struck a tender chord in his heart. He no longer wanted to stay there. He stood to his feet and turned to go when the doctor left the room. Rationalizing that he had sat there for so long for a reason, Itachi acknowledged the doctor.

"Excuse me," Itachi stopped him. "Who is that girl in there?"

"Haruno Sakura, Uchiha-san."

"I see. What is her malady?"

The man shook his head. "Heart failure. The only way to save her is a heart transplant. But there is no donor available so it's unlikely she'll live through her next seizure."

"When will that be?"

He shrugged. "Who knows."

"Ah."

The doctor left Itachi and he continued to watch the closed door.

* * *

Review puhlease! Old readers, tell me if I have ruined this...


	4. Day 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Please review! Tell me how I'm doing.

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**Day 3**

Staring blankly at the wall, Itachi thought… and he thought some more… and he thought even more. Finally he had come to a conclusion. That Haruno Sakura girl was none of his concern. He had never met her, let alone talked to her. But he couldn't understand why he had this annoying nagging feeling in the back of his head. He had heard of her, of course; she was rumored to be the greatest medic-nin in the Fire Nation. She had been a teammate of his little brothers, until he had he had left the Hidden Leaf Village; and even when he came back they were only together for two weeks before Sasuke had gone and got himself killed on a mission. Now an ex-Root member, Sai, who strangely enough was very similar to Sasuke, served in his stead.

Frustrated, Itachi gave a rare display of anger and threw his lamp against the wall. With a satisfying tinkling of glass, his anger was abated. Doctors flooded to his room in response to his disturbance.


	5. Day 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

AHHH! I can't believe I forgot about this! Somebody hit me please. I promise I will do better and remember to update *bows shamefully*

* * *

**Day 4**

He wasn't sure why he was standing here again. But for some reason he had found himself wanting to see the girl again. He stood there staring at the brown oak door. Slowly he inched his hand towards the bronze doorknob. Resting his large hand on the tarnished handle, he thought of all the implications this visit had for him. He studied the grain of the wood. He gently traced the swirling patterns with his index finger. He pressed his entire hand against the door and softly leaned his head next to it. There was no sound from the small room. He experienced a flash of panic at the thought that she might already be dead, but quickly shook that suspicion away. He glanced quickly down the halls and made sure there was no one coming or watching him. Arranging his face into an indifferent expression, he firmly gripped the knob. Turning clockwise he pushed in. Sitting on the bed was the Haruno girl. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Sasuke?"

Itachi stood awkwardly at the door while Sakura looked at him with an ecstatic expression. "Sasuke-kun! You're late! Why were gone so long?"

Much to Itachi's alarm, she pulled her blankets back and got to her feet. "You shouldn't be up yet!" Itachi snapped, rushing to catch her as her legs crumpled.

She grinned slyly and wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck. "Gotcha!" she sang.

Much to Itachi's chagrin he found that it was all a ploy. With disgust he dropped her rudely on the bed, realizing too late that that was a mistake. Not unlocking her hold around his neck, Itachi found himself lying on top of the pink haired kunoichi. She giggled at Itachi's discomfort. Figuring it was easier to just not move and wait for her to let go, Itachi tried to keep the full force of his weight off of her. She stared at Itachi's face and gently touched his cheek. Her smile dipped into a frown. She let go of him and pushed him off of her.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were somebody else."

"Hn…" Itachi sat down on the chair next to her bed. Her head was bowed and he could see the droplets of moisture come from her eyes and land on the bed.

"I'm dying," she whispered.

"Why do you feel the need to tell me this?"

She lifted her head up and glanced at Itachi. She shrugged. "I dunno. Though it probably doesn't surprise you, does it? I sensed you that day outside my room." Itachi lifted an eyebrow. "I'm very bored here, you know," she continued, unperturbed. "I've been here for nearly six months. How long have you been here?"

"Oh, ah, a few days."

"I see," she said, nodding knowledgeably. "What're you in for?" she said in a mock deep voice.

Itachi just couldn't understand this girl. She knew who he was and what he had done, yet she wasn't frightened of him or tried to scare him away. Quite the opposite, in fact. He had said five words to her and now she was rambling off to him. He was brought out of his stupor by a poke in the side.

"I asked you a question, Itachi-san."

"Hn…"

She smiled mischievously. "Are you going to answer me Itachi-san?"

"I was blind," he whispered. Sakura blinked in surprise. He didn't say anymore and Sakura seemed to understand. She squeezed his hand in a comforting manner. He hadn't noticed her hold it in the first place. Her hands were small and white. They fit quite nicely in his own. She let go of his hand and patted him gently on the knee. "When are they releasing you?"

He shrugged in reply. "I dunno," he said, using her crude language from earlier.

"I guess your healing was a success?"

"I suppose."

She nodded and allowed the conversation to drain away. It wasn't an awkward silence but a very comfortable one. She hummed quietly under her breath as her eyes watched the sakura trees in the courtyard lose their blossoms.

"I'll be dead when all the blossoms are gone. I can feel it," she said absentmindedly. "I don't even have the strength to enjoy my final days."


	6. Day 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Nartuo

Here we go! Day 5! The next chapter/drabble-page will be longer I promise :) Everyone review please! I'll definitely reply to them all this time.

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**Day 5**

"This is crazy!" Sakura shouted, though her words were very quickly lost in the wind.

They were flying through the trees now. Itachi was jumping from branch to branch, dodging all obstacles while protecting his precious cargo. Sakura gave a shriek of delight as he did a front flip mid-air before landing on the next tree.

"I believe this is the spot," Itachi said nonchalantly.

Sakura looked hesitantly around. "Yeah, it is. Take me over there."

Itachi gently carried the frail girl the large tree she was anxiously pointing to. He stopped next to the tree. She reached out and touched it with her small hands. The bark she was touching gingerly glowed blue. Sakura blew out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"It's working," she said, sighing with relief. Her hand gently slid through the bark and emerged with a small brass casket. "Here it is!" she said excitedly.


End file.
